Who is the greenest prince of them all? With his organic chutneys and prescient sermons against the destruction of the rainforest, Prince Charles must hold that title. But the prince popularly known as "air miles Andy" may be making a surprise bid for the eco-crown.

The Duke of York has been hailed by scientists for his role in developing a camera to expose illegal logging in the Amazon basin and the Congo. The British-built, £1m, 64-megapixel camera will be placed on a satellite, Amazonia-1, and deployed by Brazil's government to stop illegal logging.

The prince lobbied the prime minister to fund the project after a trip to see the impact of deforestation in Brazil in 2007 as part of his ambassadorial role for UK Trade and Investment, a government organisation promoting British businesses overseas.

While MPs have questioned the cost of Prince Andrew's foreign jaunts, scientists at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), a government unit specialising in space technology, say the camera would not have been built without his intervention.

"It was definitely the Duke of York who opened doors," says Professor Richard Holdaway, the director of space science and technology at RAL. "Without his very, very strong support this wouldn't have happened."

The £20m satellite will be launched in 2012 and Prince Andrew says he is "very excited"; perhaps he'll throw a pool party to celebrate.